Oregon Hunter Safety Course

Zones of Fire

While hunting, there might be times when you will find yourself with other hunters to the right and left of you. Let's look at how to practice safe hunting in that kind of situation.

Hold your arms out in front of you at a 45-degree angle. As you look in front of you, the area in front of you starts out small and gets progressively larger into the distance. Your safe zone of fire is the space between your outstretched arms. It is important that you never swing the muzzle out of this zone of fire. If you do, there's a chance you will be pointing the muzzle of your firearm at another hunter.

SAFETY FIRST! Remember that when hunting in groups of three, the hunter in the middle has people on both sides of him or her, and must be extremely careful not to swing out of the zone of fire.